1. Why do some people say the earth was created 6000 years ago? (since the bible does not mention this at all)  2. Why do you think God loves us so much?  3. Is your website Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, or a different type of Christianity?

Answer:

The reason that some Christians claim that the earth is only a bit more than 6000 years is that they take certain verses in the Book of Genesis literally.  In the creation account in Genesis 1, the creation of the earth is described as occurring in six “days.”  Most believers assume that these days are not literal 24-hour days.  They believe that these “days” are periods of undefined length.  The days are poetic descriptions of the stages over which God created the earth and the different life forms on the earth.  Genesis 1 is a metaphorical description of the process by which God created the heavens and the earth.

However, a minority of Christian believers take the “days” literally.  Fundamentalist Christians are unanimous about this belief. They are sometimes known of as “young earth creationists.” This explains the young earth, but it does not explain the 6000+ years. Genesis then gives genealogies which, if taken to have no gaps and fully literally, can be used to calculate an age of the earth to be between six and seven thousand years.  Bishop Ussher of Ireland famously calculated that the universe was created in 4004 BC.  Again, few Christians take these genealogies to be able to produce a precise age of the earth, but some do.  I discuss this and many questions related to the age of the earth in my book, Is There a God? It is available at www.ipibooks.com  Also, if you do a search of my web site using the search term days of creation you will find more material.

It is in God’s nature to love us.  Like the Bible says, God is love.  Nothing is more true than this statement.  If you want to understand why God loves us so much, consider how parents feel about their children.  Virtually all parents would give their very lives for their children.  This is not logical.  God’s love for his “children” is like this, only greater.  Any parent is able to understand why God loves us so much, even when we are very unlovable.

I am not a Protestant, a Roman Catholic or an Orthodox believer.  I am simply a Bible-believing Christian.  The group I am part of does not trace itself back to the Protestant Reformation.  I am part of a Church of Christ.  This is a back-to-the-Bible movement that traces back to the nineteenth century.  I am simply Christian and do not follow any human creed, but simply the Bible.  If you are interested in a group like this, please let me know.

John Oakes